The No-Noise Update (and what Kamloops tells us about where we’re headed)

Q4 + year-end 2025 context, plus the early read from January 2026.

If you want the honest version: Merritt is moving, but it’s not a frenzy. Buyers are active, sellers still have a shot, and the Kamloops market is the “weather system” that helps explain why.

Here’s what the numbers say — without the fluff.

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The Kamloops market sets the tone (even if you don’t live there)

Kamloops & District is the big engine in our region. When Kamloops speeds up or slows down, Merritt and Logan Lake feel it through:

• buyer confidence (and how quickly people write offers),

• lending/interest-rate sensitivity (payment shock),

• and what relocating buyers can afford.

Year-end 2025 (Kamloops & District, all residential):

• 2,391 sales (+1.9%)

• ~$1.5B in dollar volume (+3.7%)

• Benchmark (all residential): $582,000 (+3.0% YoY)

  Kamloops & District Quarte…

Translation: the region wasn’t booming — it was steady. That matters because steady markets don’t reward lazy pricing, but they do reward good product.

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Merritt’s headline: affordability is still your superpower

Let’s talk buying power.

Single-family benchmark (Dec 2025)

• Kamloops & District: $655,700

• Merritt: $459,700

• Logan Lake: $461,600

  Kamloops & District Quarte…

That gap is the whole story for a lot of buyers. If you’re getting squeezed by monthly payments, Merritt and Logan Lake still let you buy a house for a price point that feels impossible in much of Kamloops.

And it’s not just single family.

Condo/apartment benchmark (Dec 2025)

• Kamloops & District: $375,800 (+7.3%)

• Merritt: $285,000 (+10.2%)

• Logan Lake: $178,500 (+11.6%)

  Kamloops & District Quarte…

No-noise interpretation: entry-level housing has been climbing fastest (percentage-wise). That’s what happens when buyers can’t (or won’t) stretch to the higher price brackets — demand funnels down.

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Merritt activity: more movement, but still price-sensitive

Sales in Merritt picked up in 2025 even though prices didn’t go nuts.

• Merritt single-family sales (2025): 89 (+14.1%)

  Kamloops & District Quarte…

That’s a meaningful signal: buyers are buying. But “more sales” doesn’t mean sellers can throw a number on the wall.

Balanced markets punish two things:

1. overpricing, and

2. tired listings (bad photos, deferred maintenance, clutter, poor access for showings).

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The early 2026 “reality check” (January numbers)

January is always weird (weather, holidays, resets). But it’s still useful as a pulse check.

Kamloops & District (Jan 2026, all residential)

• 90 sales (down 35.3% from Jan 2025)

• 951 active listings (basically flat, -0.2%)

• 359 new listings (-9.8%)

  Kamloops & District – Jan …

Translation: fewer deals happened, but inventory didn’t explode. That’s not a crash signal — that’s a “buyers are cautious / slower to commit” signal.

And look at time-to-sell and benchmarks region-wide for January:

• Single family benchmark: $660,300 (+5.1%), 91 days to sell, inventory 381 (-7.8%)

  Kamloops & District – Jan …

• Townhouse benchmark: $486,400 (-1.6%), 86 days, inventory 126 (+17.8%)

  Kamloops & District – Jan …

• Condo benchmark: $386,000 (+8.3%), 110 days, inventory 150 (-0.7%)

  Kamloops & District – Jan …

No-noise takeaway: stuff is selling slower, especially condos. Buyers are taking their time, not throwing offers on day one.

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What Merritt + Logan Lake look like in January (small sample, but telling)

January sub-market stats are tiny, so don’t treat them like gospel — but they’re still a directional hint.

Merritt (Jan 2026)

• 2 single-family sales, benchmark $462,900 (+7.5%)

• 1 apartment sale, benchmark $290,600 (+10.2%)

• 0 townhouse sales, townhouse benchmark $307,900

  Kamloops & District – Jan …

Logan Lake (Jan 2026)

• 3 single-family sales, benchmark $459,500 (+6.3%)

• 1 apartment sale, benchmark $182,400 (+11.6%)

  Kamloops & District – Jan …

Translation: even with low sales counts, the “entry-level and affordable markets” theme is still showing up.

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So what does this mean for you — buyer or seller?

If you’re buying in Merritt (or Logan Lake)

You’re buying in the part of the region where your payment goes further than Kamloops — but you still need to be sharp.

What wins right now:

• Write offers based on current comparables and condition, not 2022 memories.

• Be decisive on good homes (the clean, well-priced ones still attract competition).

• Use conditions properly (inspection/financing) — because the market is giving you time again.

If you’re selling in Merritt

Here’s the blunt truth: you can sell, but you can’t be delusional.

Your listing power comes from:

1. Price that matches today’s payment reality (not what your neighbour got in a different year),

2. Presentation (photos, showing access, cleanliness, small repairs), and

3. A plan (what you’ll fix, what you’ll credit, where you’ll hold firm).

And keep this in mind: if Kamloops is seeing longer days to sell in early 2026, Merritt usually feels that same buyer hesitation — just at a lower price point.

Kamloops & District – Jan …

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Bottom line

• Merritt remains the “buying power” play in our region — that’s still true by the numbers.

  Kamloops & District Quarte…

• Kamloops is steady but slower, and that slowdown is the backdrop for Merritt/Logan Lake decisions.

  Kamloops & District – Jan …

• The market rewards realistic pricing + good product, not wishful thinking.